1. Field of the Invention
Systems and methods for processing of samples with acoustic energy are generally disclosed.
2. Related Art
Tissue samples, such as those taken by biopsy or other technique, are commonly formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE) to allow for extended storage of the samples with relatively little degradation of DNA, RNA, proteins or other materials in the sample. In such FFPE processing, the samples are typically fixed in a formalin solution (e.g., a 10% formalin solution may contain 3.7% formaldehyde and 1.0 to 1.5% methanol), which creates crosslinks between nucleic acids, between proteins and/or between nucleic acids and proteins. Afterward, the sample is dehydrated, e.g., by placing the sample in an alcohol, and then “cleared” of the alcohol by exposing the sample to a solvent such as xylene. The sample is then embedded in paraffin, where the sample is surrounded by paraffin which replaces the xylene in the sample. The paraffin embedded sample can then be stored for extended periods of days, months, years.
To recover nucleic acid material (e.g., DNA and/or RNA) and/or proteomic material (e.g., proteins) from an FFPE sample, the paraffin must be disassociated from the sample. This is typically done by placing the paraffin-bearing sample in an organic solvent, such as xylene, heptane or limonene, to dissolve the paraffin or by heating the sample in mineral oil or aqueous buffer.